Fallen Comrades

Last night our COB came under an indirect fire (IDF) attack and we lost three Soldiers from the MP Company.

When we gained accountability for our company, we breathed a sigh of relief only to have the mood turn extremely somber when we were told some of the MP Soldiers had been hit. The news began for a long night; one which I will never forget. The MPs work down the hall from us so we see them on a daily basis and have developed friendships with many of these Soldiers. I personally did not know these Soldiers but the sadness I felt for their company was immeasurable.

Within a few short hours, an angel flight was scheduled to take our fallen comrades away. We stood on the flight line to pay our respects and as a family of Soldiers, support each other.

I ask that you pray for the families of these Soldiers and for the continued safety of us that remain.

Lesson Learned

I fell on my run today. I was only a quarter mile into my normal route and I felt a line across my foot and down I went. I hit the ground hard enough so every bony prominence was scraped up. I looked for the said wire and gave up. I hurt too much to care and as I hobbled back to my trailer, I kept thinking …great, now I’ll get some staph infection from the nasty Iraqi dirt in my wounds. Luckily for me, my roommate is a nurse back home and after I cleaned out the wounds she bandaged them up. I can’t ever remember falling while running except for when I was a kid. Maybe I should wear my glasses while I run but I hate when they slip down my nose from being sweaty. This running thing has really lost its luster for me.

April 1st thru June 30th, I’ve logged 242.7 miles; 12 of which were in Kuwait. So, I’m behind my monthly goal of 100 miles to reach my 1000 miles. Luckily, my new shoes arrived so I’m not hurting in my knees and hips when I run. I never knew new shoes could make such a difference.

Recently, I’ve realized what a positive impact this deployment has had on me personally. I’ve learned to maximize the time I have. Take for example, I’ve wanted to learn how to play the guitar since I was in middle school but it took this deployment to finally pick it up. Initially, I thought I would have time to myself to do some things I never do at home. What was I thinking?!!! I have so little time to myself now yet I pick up my guitar at least every other day and practice for 10-15 minutes. Or the beautiful easel that Brian gave Lyndsey and I for Christmas a few years back that is on our main level of our house. I saw it every day yet, I hardly used it. I’ve knocked out 5 pastel drawings since I’ve been here.

Not having a TV is truly a blessing and I vow to watch less when I get home. There are too many other things in life to do instead of sitting in front of the tube. So now that I’ve learned my lesson, isn’t it time for me to go home?

PIE IN YOUR FACE!

We celebrated 4th of July on Sunday. Activities were planned throughout the day from sporting events to a barbeque and a parade.


One of the rock bands from the 34th Infantry Division.


Master Sergeant Klinkner walking by the volley ball courts.


We held a fundraiser for the Family Readiness Group. The Commanders and First Sergeants were good sports. I donated to the cause and got MAJ Riha.






Of course, the Boss Man turned around and got Sergeant Major Bartkey and myself!



The parade consisted of four floats. This one was submitted by the Corps of Engineers!


Our float!


We had some great island music blaring from the speakers and Sergeant First Class Pietcsh won the judges over with his island dance. We won first place but the next day, we were disqualified since we didn't have a red, white and blue theme.


The G1 Section's float.


Major Rosha, my partner in horse shoes. He's a lawyer and one funny guy. If only all lawyers could be like him! Even with his perfect form, we didn't win. I suck at horse shoes.

4TH OF JULY 2009!

0450 in the morning and we're glowing! We're running a 5k sponsored by YMCA. Some of the Soldiers decided to run in their body armor. I'm sure they'll wish they hadn't when they are 40! This run wasn't my personal best for a 5k but I knocked it out in 24:06.


My roommate and I before the race.


The Boss Man and SGT Heibel showing her patriotic spirit!


Another holiday gone by that didn’t feel like a holiday.

I love watching fireworks so it was disappointing to miss that tradition during the 4th. When I was a kid, my dad would make a great big bag of popcorn and pour it into a paper, grocery store bag. On the way to the viewing location, we would stop at the A&W Root Beer drive-in for some root beer. My first memory of watching fireworks was in Two Harbors near the football field and eating great popcorn and drinking frosty root beer.

I can’t remember the last time I have had either of these tasty treats since I left. It will certainly be on the to do list when I get home.

SHOUT OUT!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MISS DANI RAE!
I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!!!
LOVE,
Auntie Kristen

SHOUT OUT!

HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR. DON!
Can't wait to go "swooshing" down the slopes with ya!

Love,
Red

911 Plumber!

Just when I thought my job couldn’t get worse, I was notified last night that there was waste water spilling into a drainage ditch. ECO to the rescue! My day started out with a tour of a section of camp and began with looking under a man-hole cover.

I have to go back to when I first arrived. Since I was one of the few Soldiers from the Red Bulls to arrive, I had to work with our communication counterparts from 10th Mountain. I was asked to tour the COB with one of their officers who had been in charge of running fiber. I spent two hours looking in man-holes with fiber running through them. I remember after getting back from that excursion thinking I would never be able to get those two hours back in my life. My eyes glaze over when there is talk about networks….good thing I’m a Signal officer!

The man-hole this morning had much to be desired. The pump wasn’t working like it was suppose to and feces had spilt out over the top. NOW, I only wish I had been looking at fiber. The stench was bad and the sight wasn’t pretty. The sergeant, I was with, was going into detail about how to correct the problem and I’m thinking…I’m not a plumber! Next we looked at the ditch where waste water was accumulating. The sergeant was trying to tell me that it was fecal matter but it looked more like algae to me. However, I wasn’t about to get down and have a closer look at the water.

After my ECO duties, I had to follow-up on our Non Tactical Vehicle (NTV) (otherwise known as a truck) at the body shop. The other day my commander came back sweaty, in the heat of the day….the truck had died. It wasn’t turning over so we jumped it and while I was driving it back to our area, it died again. We jumped it a second time and drove it to the shop.

Auge’s How to Prepare for a Deployment:
Rule #4 If your car needs work, bring it to a garage where no one speaks English... Turn over your keys and pray.

When I arrived at the shop, Hider the Iraqi wasn’t there. He speaks the best English out of the bunch so I’m trying to get across to another Iraqi that the battery won’t hold a charge. He grabbed my keys and kept saying, “Tomorrow”. Like the rule, I prayed!

When I went back today to check the situation on the truck, I saw the truck buried behind others that had been brought in. Much to my surprise, the Iraqi started the vehicle and began moving vehicles out of the way for me to leave.

Auge’s How to Prepare for a Deployment.
Rule #5 Trust the people that don’t speak English. They just might surprise you!

One of the hardest things for me on this deployment has been trusting the workers that are inside our walls. Today was a good reminder that the majority of these people are just trying to scratch out a living like the rest of us and have dreams and desires of a better life.


I figured I would share pictures of my lovely morning with you!


The ditch in lovely Iraq.